Legal Commentary

On Torture Tapes Destruction:Where's "The Heat?"

By Big Tent Democrat

Jose Rodriguez said about his destruction of CIA torture tapes:

The videos showed CIA interrogators using waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique that's widely considered torture, on terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah. The videos showed that interrogators did not follow the waterboarding procedures authorized by the Bush administration, the documents indicate.

Jose Rodriguez, the agency's top clandestine officer, worried the 92 tapes would be "devastating" to the CIA if they ever surfaced, the documents show. He approved the destruction of the tapes. Rodriguez told Goss and others he "felt it was extremely important to destroy the tapes and that if there was any heat, he would take it," according to a November 2005 e-mail.

The chances of Jose Rodriguez facing any "heat from the Obama Justice Department is zero. A Medal of Freedom is more likely. The only one who needs to worry about heat from the Obama Justice Department is the person who leaked the e-mail to the Washington Post. Change you can believe in.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 16, 2010 (boomark / email).